Poland and Romania heavily armed the border with Russia

According to Isna, Poland and Romania are deploying a new weapon system to defend against drones attributed to Russia, following a wave of attacks on NATO airspace in recent months that have exposed the vulnerabilities of this alliance and put Europe in a worrying situation.

The American Merops system, small enough to fit in the back of a pickup truck, can detect drones and approach them using artificial intelligence to navigate when satellite and electronic communications are disrupted.

NATO military officials told The Associated Press that in addition to being deployed in Poland and Romania, the Merops will also be used by Denmark, part of a move to bolster defenses on the alliance’s eastern flank.

The goal, the officials said, is to arm the border with Russia so heavily that Moscow’s forces are discouraged from crossing it, from Norway in the north to Turkey in the south.

The need for such technology increased sharply after about 20 drones infiltrated Polish airspace in early September. Multi-million dollar jets flew in to respond to drones costing tens of thousands of dollars, and Warsaw blamed Moscow.

Romania was later hit with drone strikes, with drones temporarily shutting down airports in Copenhagen, Munich, Berlin and Brussels. Also, cases of infiltration of these drones were observed near military bases in Belgium and Denmark.

While the drones cannot always be traced back to Russia or its war in Ukraine, the urgent need to bolster defenses is clear, the Associated Press reported. A protracted drone war — or a full-scale war like the one in Ukraine — would drain the West’s coffers and limit its missile stockpile.

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